Smart Hacks: 7 Ways to Add More Storage in the Living Room

A living room closet is a godsend, a convenient place to cram all your belongings so your living room can be clutter-free for relaxing and entertaining. But if yours doesn’t have a closet, storing things in the living room can be tricky. You don’t want all your belongings strewn randomly across the most aesthetically important room in your home.

Luckily, with a little creativity, you can make a lot of space in your living room without sacrificing any elegance or organization. Here are some hacks for finding storage space in every nook and cranny of your living room.

Above: Ceiling-high bookshelves might seem extravagant, but without them, you lose several square feet of storage space. Luckily, the hack above from The Makerista shows how to get make simple Ikea shelves much taller, as well as how to build an elegant ladder system so you can still reach the highest shelf with ease. You don’t need to fill these shelves with books either. Save a few levels for baskets or fabric bins to store papers, toys, DVDs and off season clothing more neatly along the living room wall.

Adding risers to a bed is a no-brainer, but you can also use risers add elevation to a couch. Snugglebug University has a simple tutorial to help your couch “grow up” and provide for new space for under-couch storage.

Ottomans are great living room accessories that can work as foot rests or extra seating for guests. This hack from Dwelling Happiness lets you make an attractive ottoman that multitasks as a storage bin with a simple milk crate and a few feet of rope.

Grab some pretty woven baskets from a local market and follow these easy steps from A Pair & A Spare to create customizable hanging baskets that add easily accessible storage while sacrificing no floor space at all.

Pre-fab mega-sized TV consoles can cost a mint, but this IKEA hack from Honeybear Lane shows how to take an EXPEDIT and a sawed-in-two tall bookcase to create this one for cheap.

If your living room is doing double duty as your home’s entryway, don’t manage the clutter with a standing coat rack. Instead, add some hooks to the wall or copy these simple pegs from Snug.Studio to keep coats, scarves, and umbrellas out of the way and off the floor.

Use Ikea bed slats to create a unique vintage-style coffee table that also boasts ample storage, based on this tutorial from Ikea Hackers.

You’ve got at least a couple of feet above the door. Adding a shelf there is an easy storage fix in any room, and the living room is no exception.